1. Technical Field
This device relates to improvements to wrist braces used to support the wrist for therapeutic reasons. These types of braces are used for rehabilitation and preventing injuries to the wrist common in repetitive motion situations by supporting and bracing the muscles, tendons, fascia, nerves and bones of the wrist by applying a supportive uniform pressure thereon.
2. Description of Prior Art
Prior art devices of this type have relied on a variety of different designs and constructions to support wrist during repetitive actions such as typing, cumulative trauma or sport related repetitive motions which impart injury, etc. Accordingly, a number of prior art devices have been developed in recent years that are made of reinforced synthetic fabric material, such as nylon that use multiple securing straps that are typically secured to oppositely disposed portions of the braces by velcro type hook and loop fasteners, see for example U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,526,531, 4,441,490 and 3,327,703.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,526,531, a wrist guard is disclosed having a sleeve configuration with a plurality of closure straps that extend through respective registering loops.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,441,490 is directed to a fabric wrist brace having a number of adjustment and securing straps extending therefrom that extend around the brace on the wrist and about the portion of the user's hand forming a criss-cross overlapping configuration. A reinforcing stay adds additional rigidity and support to the back side of the brace and hand extending portion.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,327,703 is directed towards a wrist brace which is configured in a sleeve-like shape designed to maintain the wrist in a healing position while at the same time preventing sufficient voluntary flexing movement to prevent atrophy or weakening of the muscles due to inactivity which would result if the wearers hand was completely immobilized. The sleeve-like configuration has a reinforcing element which is inserted therein to provide longitudinal contoured rigidity support to the structure.
A number of wrist braces as evident by design patents have also been devised in prior art, for example, U.S. Design Pat. No. D259,955 which shows a elongated sleeve configuration with oppositely disposed openings so as to be used for either right or left handed with a contoured strap that extends thereabout just below the thumb portion.
Other prior art wrist brace configurations typically include a fabric body member, multiple support and securing straps and rigid reinforcing inserts. An example of such would be a wrist brace produced by Smith & Nephew Rolyan where a fabric brace is formed with a sleeve-like configuration having a fixed opening for the user's thumb and a plurality of adjustable straps extending transversely across the resilient portion of the sleeve.